gluten-free cinnamon rolls, a work in progress

Almost every afternoon these days, I look down at Little Bean amidst her pile of books. Without her noticing, I have shoved all the sharp knives and breakable dishes to the side of the kitchen where the appliances congregate. The chair sits against the counter. I have her apron in my hand.

“Do you want to bake with Mama?” I ask her.Her eyes grow wide and she flings her hands into the air, open. “Bay!” she says, already on the move, finger pointed toward the countertops. I lift her high in the air, pausing for a kiss on the neck, and set her down on the chair in the corner. She has rubber spatulas, measuring spoons, cups, and cloths before her. I have already laid out all the flours, the salt, the gums, and the kitchen scale on my side of the counter. The butter is softened. The sugar is ready.It’s time to bake.

The first few years I lived gluten-free, I only baked sporadically. Oh sure, there are plenty of recipes on this site, and some of them still stand up. At the time, however, my focus was finding the foods that fed me without having to substitute for gluten. I thrived on pomegranate molasses, marcona almonds, and good goat cheese. Opening my arms to all the foods to which I could say yes meant the world to me. I eat better than I ever did before I gave up gluten.

(Meeting Danny helped with that one too, of course.)

Baking started to return. I started with mixes then began buying the little bags. I fumbled through the process, daunted by xanthan gum and dry doughs. My hands didn’t know where they were. It all seemed a mystery. And a grieving. I love baking so. I felt like I would never find it again.

(You should know that most of the recipes from the first two years of this site? They were made in one attempt and then published. Triumphant that anything worked, I wanted to share, immediately. They don’t all work now. You should know that.)

Time moves through floured fingertips and failed baking attempts.

More than four years later  and countless creations tested several times before we post them, many more before sending them to print  I have baking back in my life. I never think of the moments before the countertops  the flours spread out before me, a stainless steel bowl poised on top of the kitchen scale  as anything else but baking.

I bake.

Every morning, Little Bean walks out to the living room after she wakes up, a huge smile on her face, arms outstretched toward the Christmas tree on our counter. She stands there, patiently, waiting, until I reach down to turn on the lights. And then she smiles wider.

Every afternoon, we are whisking flours, creaming butter and sugar, and waiting for the dough to rise. (Thank goodness we have neighbors and friends who like to eat our experiments.) She bangs her cups and spoons, pausing to reach toward the rolled-out dough spread with cinnamon sugar and pinch a bit between her fingers. We talk and laugh. I tell her how the dough feels in my hands, why it’s important to not add hot milk to yeast, and the difference between muscovado and turbinado sugar. She understands some of it, I think. She’s happy.

And I am happier still. Life is pretty chaotic around here at times. Danny’s cooking at a restaurant again and so gone 5 evenings a week, Little Bean is trying to reach into every cupboard and pull every book off the shelves, I’m writing two blogs, another book, and trying to keep up on the laundry. There are further complicating mysteries these days. I could easily walk around with frayed hair and a stiff neck.

However, when Little Bean and I stand at the kitchen counter, talking and bouncing our spoons against each other, I am at rest. In joy.

This is why you are seeing so many baked goods recipes on this site these days. It’s the holidays, the time of nutmeg and family gatherings. I’m not developing recipes to get accolades. I’m trying to find the best cinnamon roll recipe for this kitchen, this year, so that I can share them with my family on Christmas morning.

I want to keep baking with Little Bean, together, for many years to come.

Over the past few years, we’ve developed recipes for holiday baked goods we have really loved. Besides the recipes we are finishing up for this site, these are the ones we’ll be making in this kitchen during the next few weeks.

We feel pretty lucky in this house. We don’t bake with gluten, but we can pretty much use everything else. However, we know that not everyone can eat eggs, or dairy, or tree nuts in baking. We want you to have the best experience you can during this holiday season.

I’ve been sent some good baking books intended for folks who have multiple food allergies, and now I’d like to share them with you.

We also have 4 copies of Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook. This is a beautiful book, with lavish photography and accessible recipes. I like this book so much that I was thrilled to be asked for a blurb for the back. You’ll love it too. These are the most luscious gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, peanut-and-tree-nut-and sesame-free treats you are likely to ever see.

Just leave a comment about why you love baking and why you want to be the best baker you can in your kitchen. We’ll choose the seven winners through Random.org at the end of this week.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls, a work in progress

Normally, when we post a recipe here, we give you the final summation, the ta da! reveal. But this week, I’d like to share the process more than the final product.

Today, I’m giving you our slightly adapted version of the cinnamon rolls from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook. Since we do okay with cow’s milk here, we used that plus butter. I also didn’t have any superfine brown rice flour, which Cybele calls for, so I substituted with an equal weight of sorghum flour.

These were good rolls. Really good. Warm out of the oven, they were soft and delicious, slightly sweet and familiar. If you have multiple food allergies, these are the rolls for you. However, after a couple of hours, they were too stiff for our taste. I want cinnamon rolls that taste great without the frosting. Since we can eat eggs, I’m going to make another batch with one added, plus some other tweaks, to make the rolls more supple.

Watch this space. In a few days, I’ll have an update on the next batch.

Combine the milk, oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Turn the burn on medium heat and bring the liquid up to warm, just barely above the temperature of your skin. Turn off the heat and let it sit.

Mix all the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and yeast.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Blend them well. (A stand mixer works well here, as does a food processor.)

Turn the dough into a large, greased bowl. Cover the bowl. Let it sit in a warm place in your kitchen and rise for 1 hour.

Put the cinnamon roll dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness, as wide as you can. (I make a ragged rectangle.)

Spread 1/4 cup of the melted butter over the top of the dough, leaving about 1/2 inch along the edges. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the dough.

Carefully, using the bottom piece of parchment paper as your guide, roll the dough into a log, as tightly as you can.

Pour the remaining melted butter into the bottom of a pie pan. Cut the log of dough into 12 pieces and transfer the rolls to the buttered pan. Put the pan of rolls into a warm place in the kitchen and let them rise for 1 hour.

preheat the oven to 350°.

Bake the rolls until they are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes in our house.

baking is cathartic- kneading dough, cutting in butter, blending various flours helps melt my stress. Having multiple food allergies in our home makes me cast a suspicious eye on anything that is not homemade so doing it myself and doing it well is important.

There is something so comforting about baking. I personally can't put it fully into words, but the process of mixing it all, and then the smells, the literal warmth of the oven, the final product. And even better, sharing that final product with someone else. It's a literal gift of love.

I love baking because I've been gluten-free my whole life and baking reminds me that that doesn't mean I have to go without. It reminds me that I can be gluten-free and also love food. And it reminds me that I can make things that are satisfying. Baking is part joy and part stress and it's nice to know that it doesn't have to be all stress for those of us who are gluten-free.

Why do I love to bake? Because food makes people happy. And I want to be the best baker I can be because I want everybody to be able to have amazing baked goods, not just those of us who are allergy-free. Recently finding out that several of my relatives have to eat gluten-free (and are lactose intolerant on top of that) has made your blog so important to me, so that they can have things like rolls and pie at our family get togethers. 🙂

I love baking because I love seeing the smiles on peoples' faces when they take a bite of the goodies I have made them. Bake goods make people happy! My mom cannot eat gluten so I recently have been trying my hand at gluten-free baking. Your brownie and buttermilk scone recipes were a success, and I had the chance to see that smile across my mom's face. Thanks for all of your work! Can't wait to try some of your holiday recipes.

I love baking because it reminds me of happy childhood moments – when life and baking were both simpler. I want to learn to bake again so that I can eat baked goods, despite having a no-gluten, no-dairy, and low-sugar diet mandated by various health issues.

Definitely been craving GF cinnamon rolls lately… though I've been breaking my diet (not severely intolerant, but I know, still not good for me) a lot lately, because we just can't afford me being 100% gluten free (eating gifts of food and cheap ramen).

Still… waiting for the day when I can afford to buy all the different flours and have the time to try all these awesome recipes – the more I bake, the better I'll be, but I haven't had the time yet from working.

I've always loved baking. When I was younger, it was the time with my parents or the finished project that brought a gleam to my eye. Now, I've found that I'm truly happy in an apron surrounded by measuring cups and recipe books. It's a stress-reducer in my stress laden life. I want to be the best baker I can be in order to feed those hungry mouthes around me. Not much makes me more happy than having someone enjoy something I've baked, or cooked. If it's allergen-free and gluten-free, then that victory is even sweeter!

Baking was what I always did with my mom – cooking with Dad, baking with Mom. Holidays, snow days, whenever we weren't busy jetting off somewhere, I was kneading bread dough for my mom, learning how to make pie crust, cutting out cookies. So whenever I bake, it feels communal, even when it's just me in the kitchen.

And why I want to be a better baker? Because every time I perfect or improve upon a cookie or a bread, I get smiles. Smiles from co-workers, smiles from friends, smiles from my fiance. Baked goods make people happy.

I have always loved to bake and cook; however upon my celiac diagnosis and then my twin sons (4 years old)tree nut and soy allergies, baking is an absolute necessity. Since they came into my life they have been part of this process-donning their airplane red aprons and mixing the ingredients, donning the muffin tins with colorful paper cups of their choice. Baking may be a necessity in our house but it equally fills us with joy to work together and produce truly amazing food we can savor and share with our friends.

I bake because I can! 🙂 I learned to bake after going gluten-free and have been able to create so many delicious treats I never thought I was capable of making.My 3yr old loves baking with me, and though it makes twice the mess when she helps – it brings us both great joy!

thank you for taking this on…cinnamon rolls have been a christmas morning family tradition in our house since i was a child. this year i was trying to come to terms with having to find something else instead…i'm eagerly awaiting your updated version of this recipe! now we need a converted version of our egg strada, which is traditionally made with sourdough bread…any suggestions? thanks!

I love bakng because it brings people together. Three of my friends from high school get together during winter break to make sugar cookies. They always turned out horrible but we loved them anyway. It wasn't just about the act of baking but what bakng did; brought us close together again after a year apart. We still bake cookies almost six years after high school. A few of us have for allergies so we will be hoping for a great cook book to help us make some allergy free, hopefuly tasty sugar cookies this Christmas.

I really enjoy baking for my family and bringing meals to friends. Since I've had to go basically "free of everything" it excites me to know there are wonderful options out there waiting for me to try.

I wish I had your fortitude, but I guess it takes time. Baking is something that I need to learn, if only so that I don't feel so left out during the holidays. But I want to be a chef, and when people hear that, they automatically ask me if I bake (perhaps this is because they assume all female chefs are pastry chefs. pff).

I wish I had your fortitude, but I guess it takes time. Baking is something that I need to learn, if only so that I don't feel so left out during the holidays. But I want to be a chef, and when people hear that, they automatically ask me if I bake (perhaps this is because they assume all female chefs are pastry chefs. pff).

I wish I had your fortitude, but I guess it takes time. Baking is something that I need to learn, if only so that I don't feel so left out during the holidays. But I want to be a chef, and when people hear that, they automatically ask me if I bake (perhaps this is because they assume all female chefs are pastry chefs. pff).

I love baking because I love the joy it brings to other peoples bellies! Unfortunately though I don't always bring the best joy to my own belly with baked goods that I can make, as I haven't really tried many GF, Soy Free recipes. I would love this cookbook, it would be great for the holidays!!

Baking reminds me of my sister, it connects me to her across the vast distance that separates us these days. I am gluten free as is one of my closet friends, we support each other and baking is something I can share with her. When the summer turns to fall and the daylight begins to fade, my brain and body naturally turn to baking, it's occupies the cold months and eases the mind from start to finish.

I love baking because everything tastes better when it's homemade! I love the comforting smell that comes from the oven when cookie dough lumps are forming into fresh baked cookies. I love knowing what is in the food I'm eating.

I love baking because it gives me a feeling of accomplishment–no matter how bad work is, no matter how late I am on various deadlines, making a batch of yummy cookies reminds me that I'm good at things that matter (cookies are serious business in my house!). I bake GF for my husband, who was diagnosed with celiac 2 years ago next week. Helping him stay healthy is another accomplishment.

i am new to baking. My sister is a pastry chef, so I always felt eclipsedb y spun sugar and exquisite creams and custards. I was content to be a very appreciative patron of bakeries. Now I realize that my humble cookies, a birthday cake for the husband, or a GF cake made for a friend are a way to share my love. I am smitten.

I just stumbled upon your blog via google and I'm now smiling from ear to ear. I was just diagnosed with celiac disease and I, like you LOVE to bake.It's like therapy to me. There's always something going on in my kitchen and oven. I've been a little bummed about it to say the least and don't even know where to begin. It's all a bit daunting to me right now. I'm thrilled to find your recipes and try some of them out, especially with the Holidays coming. I would love any advice that you would have to offer and I'll definitely continue to read. Thank you so much!

my own little girl is too young to help with baking, but i am so inspired by the stories of you in the kitchen with little bean. i love baking because of the connections it brings up to my loved ones, those who shared the recipes and those i'll feed, those i'm just thinking of in a quiet moment at the counter.

I've only been gluten free for about 2 months. As I continue on this journey, I find that I miss getting my hands "dirty" so to speak. I miss the smell of rising yeast and baking bread; I miss biting into a warm, gooey, yummy cookie fresh from the oven. I miss making those treats from scratch, instead of tenuously trying to use the mixes that I've managed to scrounge out of the hidden recesses of my grocery store.

I want to share the joys of cooking with my soon to be family, and help my mother-in-law create the Italian favorites my fiance loves in a form that I can enjoy as well.

I want to re-find my confidence with the assistance of people who have had the heart-breaking removal of old favorites because those favorites now make you sick, and create new favorites to share.

I am not a baker, it doesn't do much for me and I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so don't put my name in the random drawing! I would much rather a savory treat. But I love this post and the relationship you have with Lu and the kitchen, so sweet. I can't get enough of her, every time you post a photo I smile widely, she is so adorable! Hope returning to a restaurant is good for Danny! I am cheering for you both and hope your mysteries are well tempered with holiday spirit! If you send an address I will send christmas carmel your way.

I was just a few tweaks away from my perfect buttermilk biscuits when I was diagnosed. Baking has always been a meditative pleasure for me. The day I tossed out all of my specialty flours felt like taking children to the curb…horrible. I've, since then, found new energy and excitement and am re-energizing my passion for baking. Although learning to bake GF has been a huge task–like learning a new language as an adult–I've been encouraged by small successes and am always seeking outside inspiration.

I would love, love, love a copy of The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook.

My little one (well, not as little as Lucy – she's 5!) and I love to bake together! And just as you do, I pass all sorts of information on to Bella when we bake (the latest question of hers? why can't we just add melted butter to the sugar and cream it? wont that work?).

Baking is connecting on so many levels – when you are buying the ingredients, combining them in the recipe, watching them morph into the finished product, and ultimately watching the look on the recipient's face as they take a bite. It's so much more than just throwing a few things in a bowl. I love baking (and cooking) because every piece of it is a connection.

Little Bella has a peanut allergy and some of her classmates have other food allergies too (which means they get the shaft when it comes to treats in class). I'd love to expand our repertoire a bit to be able to bring a treat in to class that ALL the kids can share.

I grew up with a steady supply of my grandmother's cookies in the jar, and pies on the counter. Baking is home to me, in every sense of the word.As a newly diagnosed celiac, i fear really missing being able to indulge in gooey sweet treats. BUT, i'm excited to tackle the challenge of learning to bake all over again! …and to rediscover that sense of home.

Honestly, I think baking is totally relaxing – from the controlled specific measuring, to the aggressive mixing or kneading, to the steady smooth batter-pouring, and finally the sweet end result, I think it's the perfect oasis from a hectic life! I also love making other people happy – though I always insist that they're brutally critical – to help me perfect my craft!

I have the most wonderful memories of baking with my Mom when I was small. When we were in the kitchen, it was our time. She taught me so many things that I recall so fondly and use everytime I bake. And the best part of the experience was sharing the tasty goodies with the rest of the family knowing that Mom and I baked them together.

Hi Shauna,I thought of you the other day when reading "Comfort Food" by Kate Jacobs. It's a novel that deals with the theme of celebrity. The setting is about cooking of course, and even blogging celebrity cooks. You might want to check it out when you'd like an easy, entertaining read. Congrats on the recognition from Oprah!

why do i love baking? are you serious? are you serious? well the truth is i dont know if i "love" baking" i ahave 3 kids and i can definitely say that "we" love baking and that i love baking with them, and that i love baked goods. but i can't tell you why. sorry all i know is life is sweet and when you know how to bake, it's even sweeter!

I love to bake, because I love to eat. I love to share. I most definitely love to enjoy food.

I am compiling my own recipes and others from fellow bloggers to share with the people I work with and know who have celiacs. While I feel like gf baking is always an adventure, my husband likes to brag about how "you'll never guess its gluten free" to anyone who steps foot in our kitchen. I hope to pass those "you'll never guess" recipes on to other gf-ers, because everyone deserves delicious dessert and breakfast baked goods.

I've loved baking since I was a "Little Bean." My lemonade stands always also featured home-made chocolate chip or sugar cookies. My mom was neither a cook or a baker, so I had to teach myself everything.

By the age of 12, I wanted to learn how to bake the perfect loaf of bread. Mothers of friends provided me with recipes and gave me tips. I bought cookbooks and ingredients with babysitting money. It took me nearly 80 loaves of bread to get a consistent, high quality yeast bread and to really _know_ and _feel_ my way with bread-baking. I persisted and made home-made jam to go with the fresh bread. I loved making challah on Thursdays or Fridays.

I also loved baking quick breads as holiday gifts and after a year of immersing myself in bread-baking, I'd collected over 100 different bread recipes for both yeasted breads and quick breads.

In high school, I hung with a "geeky" crowd and instead of progressive dinners, we would do progressive quick bread bake-a-thons. Bishops bread at one house, pumpkin bread at the next, zucchini bread, banana bread — you name it — everyone took home one of each type or gave them as gifts.

I loved knowing how to take a yeast bread any direction I wanted — sweeter, with cinnamon and sugar, or more grainy and earthy. I loved the feeling of the dough and the smells that filled the house.

In my twenties, I was told to stop eating wheat and gluten, and in my forties, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes), corn, soy, oats and dairy were added to my "do not eat" list. I feel better without all of these foods and, at the same time, I find that I need to modify *every* recipe. Of the cookbooks you mention, Allergen-Free Cooking is the one I haven't checked out that looks interesting.

Shauna, I'm so grateful for the work you're doing to return baking to those of us who need to think twice about what we eat! Thanks to you and Danny both for your wonderful work!

I'm trying to bake to help get back to a feeling of normalcy. I think I get your comment about grieving. I'm nearly to the point that I'll be ready to get all the different flours. This week we're at the trying four different mixes and seeing what happens. The Nameste brand got tossed right out of oven they were so gross. Anyway I miss being able to create so that is why I'm trying again.

I have Celiac Disease and 3 of our 4 children have life-threatening food allergies. Everything I know about baking I have learned since my diagnosis. Prior to that all of our food was over-processed or from a restaurant. I am thrilled every time I bake and my kids grin with delight as they enjoy the results. My baking with our dietary restrictions have brought our family closer together.

Man I love baking due to the fact that it is the MOST normal thing I can do as a Celiac (kinda ironic EH)but the moment I enter the kitchen stress melts away and on i go to bake what ever my heart wants/ needs + I am the next generation of celiacs we had bette hagman for the longest time but the times changed and now it is time for me and all of the other GF bakers to change the world!!

I love the creative challenge of figuring out the right ratio of ingredients, and gratefully so, since there are so many foods I must avoid, and therefore the right recipes are difficult to come by. It's so rewarding to get it right, and to share the fruits of your labors with others. I want to become better at baking so that I can reclaim that emotional exchange of sharing good food with friends and family.

I used to *love* baking before I had to drop gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and peanuts from my diet over a year ago. I loved the kitchen work, the smells, the satisfaction, the smiles it creates. It's a creative outlet.

I'm just beginning to get back into it, experimenting with your recipes, and some from Babycakes. I still need to learn more about flours – what works, when, and why – and what to do when a recipe calls for eggs. I seem to have entered a hyper-sensitive phase. I made your version of the Leite choc. chip cookies, but can't eat them. 🙁

I want to be the best baker I can be, because I miss it. I really do. I think it's a part of who I am.

I grew up watching my mother bake at Christmas time. I know she baked other times of the year but I must not have been tuned in to her those other times. I lost my mother last year at holiday time and this month is the first time I have felt the need to bake. I'm just discovering GF baking so each attempt is a new adventure in shopping, selecting and baking. I would love to win a cookbook to help me in the journey.

As a little girl I used baking as a form of stress relief, and a way to express my love for my family. The process of baking from scratch put me in my own little utopia. After being diagnosed with Celiac 5-years ago, I stopped baking, fearful of failure. A few months ago I realized that I had to get back into the kitchen, and so there I am, most of any day experimenting, tasting and testing. I have more failures than I like to admit, but I am learning a great deal about allergen-free baking and about myself. In spite of all that I am learning through trial and error, it would be such a gift to have a great cook book to turn to when I need a sure thing. Or the experience of little success in the kitchen.

I love baking because it gives me a calm, I know what I'm doing (most the time) and have a goal to accomplish. It also gives me a challenge when I work on converting a recipe to GF and such joy when I see my kids eat their favorite foods. Baking really grounds me.

I bake because it satisfies my soul. It makes me feel warm and loved to watch the simple ingredients I've mixed together rise into something beautiful and fluffy, like a pheonix from the ashes. I bake because I know that everything that comes from my kitchen sustains a woman I love. My mother has 26 allergies and is so consumed with the lives of her family, that she cannot find the energy or will to make food for herself. So I took it upon myself, as her oldest, to cook soulely for her. Taking this off her plate. So I know that every roll, cookie, cake, loaf, and bar I put in her mouth . . . thats one more day she is still with me.

Baking is constructive. You build when you bake. Baking is a collage of ingredients. Baking is art. Cooking is more "de-constructive." You take things apart: a chicken, a pig. You take parts of other things- vegetables and starches and you cook them sometimes separately, or sometimes with your deconstructed main protein. Are you following me here?

With baking you are applying some magic formula that will turn all of those potions, powders, grains and other goodies into a whole, incredible, satisfying, sweet, comforting treat.

Cooking is about sharing and love, and for some strange reason, baking is the absolute pure essence of that.

I do miss baking a lot. (No eggs either, for me, so many GF recipes don't work.) I have a couple of recipes I've developed, but I don't feel I have a real handle on the different flours and what they'll do for me.

This year I actually went gluten free. I have been a fan of your site since 2004 and after a year of feeling terrible I finally tried giving up gluten. Lo and behold, I feel better but I lost a part of my identity.

I was always the baker in our family. My mom always said that cooking was an art and baking was a science, which is why I love baking. But going gluten free meant that I lost that. I am slowly breaking back into the baking, but I must say it is very intimidating. A gluten free failure feels epic. So the courage to bake something is fleeting. I have to say thank you for getting back into it. You give me courage to try, even if I am afraid. Now instead of thinking "it will be terrible", I can think "what's the worst that it can be". Thank you!

I have always loved to piddle around in the kitchen, especially when it results in sweet stuff! Now that my 5 year old is gluten free, I bake with passion and purpose, so that she has something delicious to enjoy. It's funny that you mention cinnamon rolls – that's the latest item that she asked me to make for her. So, as she went off to Kindergarten, I made my first attempt at homemade gf rolls. Took all morning, and I prayed right into the dough that they would melt in her mouth. When she came home, smelled the aroma of heaven, and consumed two scrumptious rolls, WE were satisfied. Success in gf baking makes me feel like a better mom… I took a picture of these awesome rolls – too bad I can't post it. Have a lovely evening!!

oh I would love to win any of those books! i am just starting to bake/cook without gluten or corn! i found out I have an intolerance to wheat/gluten & corn. which is creating difficulties since most gluten free recipes substitute with corn products. however i'm pushing onward and searching high and low for gluten free & corn free recipes and teaching myself how to change normal gluten recipes into non-gluten recipes. it sure is challenging but i'm hanging in there! thanks for offering such wonderful books to help those us who need them!

I used to love to bake. I began when I was just kid and experimenting with what tasted good. What is so sad to me in the past year since I was diagnosed is that I gave it up completely. My mom even bought me all those little bags of different kinds of flour but they just seem to foreign to me. I almost feel like I need to be a kid again, unafraid to make a mistake, to experiment. Your blogs and recipes give me hope. Thank you.

I love baking because it allows me to create tangible, edible expressions of love for the wonderful people in my life.

I was the first to be diagnosed, but several of my family members and friends are also gluten free now. We've spent the last few years having great fun experimenting, adapting, and developing new recipes and techniques for gluten free baking.

Thank you for sharing your own adventures on your blog and in your book. Your photos are always inspiring!

I love baking because it reminds me of all the time I spent in the kitchen with my Grandma. She died last November and being in the kitchen reminds me of her. I want to be a better baker because my mom is GF and I want her to be able to enjoy all the wonderful things that she used to be able too and sometimes misses out on because it has gluten in it.

Oh how I would love to return to baking. Diagnosed early this year, I now bake only sporadically. I find the whole process of baking daunting, partly, because we are dealing with multiple food allergies. I miss it. Homemade baked goods are so wonderful. I put the allergy friendly cookbook on my Amazon wish list in case I don't win.

Hello. I liked to bake but I fear to bake now that I'm gluten intolerant, lactose intolerant, as well as allergic to legumes and tree nuts. I want to learn not to fear wasting time, wasting food, wasting effort. I want to relearn my ease, my confidence, my pleasure in making foods, especially baking. I want to love baking again.

I have baked since I was Little Bean's age, so it feels like home. And I'd love to have this book because my sweet boyfriend deserves more baked goods than the 3 reliable dairy and egg free recipes that I have!

I'm excited to (maybe someday?) read about these complicating mysteries…

I used to bake (and cook) a lot, especially during the holidays. Since my diagnosis though, I have felt stuck. All the flours seem overwhelming, but your posts keep giving me hope. A book would help too! I'd love to have somebody actually ENJOY something gluten free, instead of suffering through it (and having me feel guilty).

I love baking because I get to create something from a bunch of items in my kitchen, I find it relaxes me and people tend to really enjoy the items I bake. It's something I like to do and I do it well. It's a great confidence boost for me and I also get to do something I love and share the goods… Thanks for asking, I definitely need to get back to my kitchen. – Catherine from Canada

Wow, I didn't realize there were so many other "stress bakers" here! I would bake cookies whenever I was stressed in college. It was funny when I first went GF, I didn't know what to do with myself when I had a big test coming up 🙂

Now, I bake simply because I can.

I can make something incredible that I can't get elsewhere, that I don't feel sick after eating, that I probably wouldn't have tried in my Toll House cookie days.

I was diagnosed with celiac sprue in October 9 years ago. I grew up baking with my mother, but as an adult I baked infrequently. I was inspired to begin baking again after my diagnosis by finding that most of the commercial gluten free baked goods available at that time were not very good quality (although there are lots of acceptable if not exceptional products out there now). I knew I could do better than that, and I did. By Christmas of that year I had experimented enough to make gluten free versions of some of our family's traditional Christmas cookies. But the most wonderful thing about that Christmas was the gluten free banana bread my aunt made for me. I had never known that her daughter-in-law and nephew had celiac sprue, and so she was completely up on how to bake gluten free. I was moved to tears that she had gone to the trouble of making me a delicious, safe, treat.

So, that's why I love to bake. Feeding someone with love, including me!

People always told my mother she should open up her own bakery. For as long as I can remember, she has made breads, cookies, cakes, brownies, doughnuts, dinner rolls, and pretty much everything else you could eat (applesauce, jam, even yogurt) from scratch. But shes most famous amongst our family and friends for her cinnamon rolls. She cant even visit some of her friends without a dozen or three. People moan as they sink their teeth into the rolls, steam escaping from the pinched, chewy down dough. They lick the sticky icing off their fingers and off the aluminum foil she wraps them in. My father bakes when my mother leaves the house because she wont let him in the kitchen otherwise. While she goes through baking phases: fat-free, whole wheat, you name it, hes a traditionalist. The more chocolate and butter, the better. He achieves marginal success for someone who doesnt spend his days in the kitchen, and he is always fiercely proud of his creations whether theyre successes or failures, munching on them days after theyd hardened into shriveled lumps. My mom insisted I learn to bake, though I had to learn how to cook on my own. Baking has always been an act of creativity, an act of chemistry, an act of rebellion, an act of tradition. I love the precision of the restrictions and the freedom of the endless variations on one simple recipe. How could I not love all the ambiguities in that? When I learned I couldnt eat gluten, one of the first things I taught myself how to make was sourdough bread, even though real bread always intimidated me. The stuff even raised! Who would have thought? Me. Making homemade sourdough bread. My mother was proud. I live in a different time zone than my parents now. We dont particularly get along. But every time I bake, I cant help but hum to myself, like my mother used to. (Ok, she used to belt out songs, but you get the point). I cant help but feel connected to the kitchen 3000 miles away that sustained me and helped shape my tastes for the finer things in life.

When I stopped eating gluten, the first thing I did was start figuring out how to bake. I've always loved baking and couldn't fathom life without chocolate chip cookies. It took some false starts, but I'm getting there thanks to the help of GF blogs.

There are so many things about baking I love. The selfish: how zen it makes me, the smells that get to fill my house, the way you feel accomplished when things go right. The unselfish: the way other people look when enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Yes, sometimes its frustrating baking GF, but that makes the reward that much sweeter when you finally find something that works 🙂

I stopped baking a while ago to try and lose weight – I could resist store-baked goodies, but not my own. I let my girls eat cookies and desserts I knew I could make better and healthier, and winced a bit with the guilt.

But, since my oldest daughter's diagnosis with celiac, I'm back baking. We haven't found much in her new gluten-free, lactose-free world that she enjoys – except the baked goods. Our new house smells more like home now, my netbook is covered with a film of some strange, new flour, and we are all happily snacking. It's the best that I can give her right now, and I am baking with determination and love.

Baking is a chance to create & share delight, especially gluten free baking–people who don't eat gluten are so grateful to eat delicious baked goods. On Sunday I brought a gluten free pecan pie (Elana Amsterdam almond flour recipe) to church for a potluck and a friend found me to give me a tearful hug. She had memories of pecan pie made by her Bubba for Hanukkah (we have several Jewish spouses at our church…) but hadn't had a piece in ten years. Delight!

last night i had the first delicious homemade gluten free cookie. i really mean my first! i have had so many failed attempts since you commented on my first GF cookie experiments on my blog, two years ago. (btw, i went to bed swooning like a teenager over a vampire because you wrote on my blog. i still brag about it!) anyhow, we recently moved to high elevations (7500') and i have had to learn to deal with high altitude cooking + GF baking. this has resulted in a lot of flat, dry "treats". my sweet husband usually doesn't do much in the kitchen because i adore being there and creating on my own. last night he set out to bake something wonderful for me though. i am not kidding you, the best freaking GF high altitude cookie ever! so now, i don't bake. but he does. and he does it to see my face grow wide in a grin as i munch away on this thick, but not dry, delicious cookie. (he used the advice you gave me on my blog, you should know!) my new role in baking is being the dough taster and the spatula licker. i suppose i can manage the timer if he really needs an extra hand! 🙂

Mom raised us in the kitchen, and I can't think of any place I'd rather be. Nothing says love to me like putting together ingredients and mixing, kneading and folding until you come up with something special. Then smelling the whole house fill with that sweet or spicy aroma. Mmmmmm.

I love the creativity that I feel while baking. My friend gave me the most adorable apron for my birthday, so now I feel cute while creating (sometimes) good tasting foods for my family to share together.

I love knowing what is in the food that I am feeding my family.

Lately, I only enjoy baking when I have a good recipe to follow. GF has been a tough category to work with. More failures than successes (seriously, how many door stops does one family need?)

We are gluten free as of Oct 1, 2009. On that day my 14 y/o son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His whole life has been turned upside down. We are now GF to help ensure he does not become celiac. I want to learn how to cook and bake yummy GF foods so he does not feel like he is different and missing out on his old normals. It has been a journey creating our new normal…

As a long-time baker, but short-time GF girl I want to get back to baking wonderful yummies in the kitchen!I miss the creativity of baking. I can relate to your process and appreciate all that you have learned. Thank you so much for sharing your trials & triumphs with us! A new GF cookbook could also help to get me over my fear of GF baking. :o)

Why do I love baking? Because I can just meditate on the process (much like the process of making a good pot of tea!) and because I can do it with the kid. Even though we are not an exclusivily gluten-free household (everyone but me can have it, and do) she loves to learn all about the science and experiance of GF cooking. I must admit, having another cookbook, one that is actually gf, would be great for her. Thanks for the chance, and thanks for all the wornderful work you do for all of us!

i love baking because i love opening the oven and finding what i put into it transformed into something beautiful and delicious! also, my little girl (born just a month after your little one) has an egg allergy, so the book would be a help for me as i adjust to her needs.

Hmm, why do I love baking? It's simple, really. It is creating, and creating is the core of who I am as a woman. Sharing that process, (and the often delicious outcome), is a way for my daughter and I to bond, for me to share the things we make with those in need in our small community, and a gift that I have been able to share with my husband, too.

For me, baking is something that I've known all my life. My mom, a great mennonite cook, baked up a storm every Christmas to feed her 6 children. I've been baking with my children since they were old enough to stand on a chair. After going gluten free this spring due to my daughter's diagnosis of gluten intolerance, baking has become a bit of a challenge. I am finding my way and experimenting with different flour mixes. So far, so good! I am hoping to give my daughter g-free baking this season, so she doesn't feel left out. After all, Christmas isn't the same without some of Grandma's recipes.

What a lovely post! Baking is so soothing and rewarding for me. When I'm stressed out, baking helps me take my mind off muy anxieties. I love to mix something up and watch it go from a raw mush into a warm, wonderful treat that I can share with my friends and family. (Sharing is important for my sanity–and my waistline!)

Allergen-Free Baker's HandbookOOOHHH, my fingers itch, my nostrils twitch and sniff…How I have been yearning, searching for this book…the title says it all…is it truly a handbook? Will it have easy access to all the ways to convert recipes? like what to substitute for cornstarch? Tapioca? Will it have fabulously tested, tried and true all time favorites? Will it conquer the "no eggs no butter" challenge?S

I have always loved to bake and missed the experience when life with 5 kids and activities got in the way. Now that 4 of my kids and I are gluten free and some dairy free I find I must experiment and bake again. I can't afford to by premade or even mixes for 5 gluten free and/or dairy free people. I am really looking forward to working with my 11 year old on a self-determined 4H project on gluten free baking so she can take care of herself as she grows up.I want to be the best baker I can be because the alternative is that my kids grow up without having baked goods. Our diagnosis has made us bind together and learn together.

I, too, love to bake with my daughter! It's amazing to watch her learn about putting together ingredients in different ways and how they come together to make something delicious. Plus, she'll pretty much eat anything that she had a hand in making!! (Bonus!)

Thank you, Shauna, for sharing your beautiful recipes and wonderful way with words with all of us. Finally had the chance to read your book recently, and loved it! Can't wait for the next one 🙂

I love baking because of its elemental magic. I love to show my little boys that what we can bake together is at least 100 times better than anything we can buy at the grocery store. What I'm working on now, is baking things that their Daddy can eat too; still largely prepackaged mixes, but we're getting there. Your blog helps. Thank you.

I love to bake because I love to see my GF/DF kids enjoy food, and enjoy it as much as anyone, who has no restrictions. It is a bonding time in our family, and also a time where mistakes are ok, and yes even spills and messes pass. We all create things together and learn about good, "tummy happy" food 🙂

Ooo, how fun that you are having this giveaway! I love to bake so because I the flavors and smells are so much more enhanced under my own hands. And I love working with the kids on our baking creations. Today we made these little bread animals, though they were later more like rock animals. 😉 Thanks for reminding me to involve H a little more and not just Q. She, like LB, loves it all too!

I'm getting back into baking because dammit, I don't want to feel banished from my own kitchen. Especially when so many others have gone before me to do the heavy lifting of pre-testing substitutions, making xanthan gum available at 3 local grocery stores, etc.

I love baking coz it puts a smile on peoples faces and a sparkle in their eye! I love baking coz the house smells heavenly when there's somethin in the oven!I'm always looking for egg-free books n my mom is gluten-intolerant! One of these bookss will help me for sure!-Disha.

I've been baking since I was 10. I love the smell and the warmth of the kitchen. And I really like figuring out "the best" way to make something. Now that my daughter can't have gluten, I'm enjoying the challenge of learning how to bake gluten free. And I'm finding that a lot of other people appreciate it too!

I've always loved to cook. I made my way through the first couple of years of engineering school working as a cook. Working long hours in a hot kitchen during the dinner rush was cathartic. Cooking was also a natural extension of everything I loved — love of food, soil, worms, fungi, gardening, a connection to community and the environment.

But baking scared me. I felt I had more control with cooking. I could always tweek a dish during the cooking process to compensate for whatever I found lacking or to downplay one flavor in favor of another. But baking seemed more like an act of faith and often left me feeling like an agnostic in the kitchen.

It wasn't until I found out that I had severe allergies to dairy and gluten that I forced myself to confront my fear of baking. I have to admit I was partially motivated by the fact that GFDF baked goods can takes its toll on the pocketbook. But the scientist/engineer in me immediately took to the challenge of learning the different types of flours and other additives necessary for good baking. I have by no means developed into a great baker but I am starting to have some success. I am baking pies, sweet breads, pizza crusts, sandwich breads, and rolls. I have had more than my fair share of failures but every failure has taught me just a little bit more about the baking process. And every little success has helped chip away against the mystique of baking and increase my confidence in the kitchen.

When I bake, the rest of the world ceases to exist. No matter how crappy my day is, or how much work still has to be done before I get to go to sleep, baking is a respite from all of that. The mind chatter stops and it's just me, in my old and cozy kitchen mixing together ingredients that in a short amount of time will nourish myself and my family. There's no smell better than that of something baking in the oven, and when I've successfully made a baked good, it feels like I have more energy to tackle all that other stuff that overwhelmed me just a little while ago. Baking is really just another moving meditation practice. Breathing in, sifting flours, breathing out, breathing in, creaming eggs and butter, breathing out…

I love to bake because it's good thinking time for me. I'm able to destress and focus on putting together the recipe while mulling things over quietly in my mind. Plus I like to love those around me by baking them yummy things…especially my father-in-law who has celiac and really appreciates my gf baking!

If a post can be pretty, then this one was it. Pretty for the eyes and pretty for the soul. It brought back such fond memories of baking with my Mom when I was little. I would get tired of making little cookies and would end up making one giant one on her round silver serving tray. She always took photos of me posing with my creation out in the garden 🙂

I love baking because it creates connections.

Connections to the individual items you are working with. A connection to making a grand something out of many individual nothings. A connection to memories if the aroma of the baking brings back childhood memories. And the best connection – getting to share your end product with someone special over a pot of tea.

Why do I love baking? It's so exciting taking a random collection of dusts and goos and making something my family loves. I'm a newbie to the GF world and had my first success last night! Dinner was better than it had been for weeks- not because the food tasted good, but because my family was gathered together around the table talking and smiling and NOT mourning the recent banning of a silly powdered ingredient.

I've always loved to bake – ever since (like Little Bean) I was standing on a chair at the kitchen counter next to Mum (who we all considered to be the best cook in the world!)… She let us make up our own recipes and taught us to experiment. And she taught us to bake for others as a way of showing we care. I hope to pass that on to my children too. I especially love to bake for people with food allergies – so often they feel left out, and odd, and I enjoy making food that tastes good, and helps them feel loved.

Why do I love baking? Simply put..it is Love. Our family has shared so much love in our lives through shared baking and sharing recipes. After my diagnosis, I feel like I am not a part of this family tradition anymore…

why do I want to be the best baker in my kitchen? To join my family again, and show them that gluten free doesn't mean wet heavy lumps of dough.

The first thing I remember cooking was a cinnamon tea cake, which I baked with Mum. I creamed the butter and sugar. An hour later I was eating my first slice, hot and sweet and buttery. Ever since I've loved baking, particularly around Christmas and Easter, and especially with my mum. Comfort food for me has always been home-made cookies and puddings and cakes. Even through the years when I was struggling to find answers to ongoing health problems I baked, finding comfort and solace in the kitchen. Even if I was too tired to host a dinner party, I could still bake muffins for morning tea. Baking has changed for me on my dairy-free, gluten-free and low-fructose diet. It's had too. But I still love it. I'm still adapting old favorites and searching out new recipes to try.

Baking is meditation, sharing, exercise (well, sort of), science, art, history. There's nothing I love more than waking early to a quiet house, making myself a coffee and baking fresh muffins or scones. Now, they must be gluten-free and, in large part thanks to this blog, that's becoming a bit easier.

WOW, Congrats on Oprah. This is so huge for the gluten free world. Thank you for being such a leader and showing the world what gluten free really means.I'd love to be the best baker in my kitchen to keep up with my 16 year old son. He does most of our baking and is great. We all live gluten free so he keeps up happy and full. I'd love to challenge him to a bake off!

Hello!I love the ethos of this site because it is so in line with how I cook (I'm a personal chef!) and cooking the RIGHT food, baking the things which will sustain my clients, friends and family, feels amazing. The joy that comes from telling someone YOU CAN EAT THIS, REALLY- is so satisfying. The act of baking takes time, care and energy which I think everyone appreciates.

In fact I'm tromping out in a snowstorm RIGHT NOW to go shop and bake for my family!

HI, I've been lurking and reading here forever, as I'm not a baker.. but I want to be! Reading what you write makes me want to dig in and make all these great things and have my home smell this great! Mainly reading your blog makes me think I can do it and not be relegated to cold hard gluten free cookies and memories of yummy things! The cinammon rolls sent me over the edge! I know I can bake! Thanks!

I love baking because I love the comfort of fresh, warm steaming goods that I've made with the right amount of sugar, a decided lack of preservatives. I also refuse to believe baking is science – it's more like magic to me. You mix a bunch of stuff together, it gets hot and then is transformed into something else entirely.

I also weep whenever I see that sesame is starting to pop up on allergen labels because between sesame and walnuts, I can eat VERY few pre-made baked goods, which are never as good as the ones I make, but are much, much faster to manage when I'm packing lunch for a 13 hour work day.

I love baking because it forces me to slow down, to measure ingredients just as I should measure my steps. Baking is my therapy and my solace. I bake to celebrate and I bake to comfort a grieving loved one. I bake because, like Little Bean, my mom taught me to love it from the very beginning.

Hi Shawna! I love to bake and cook because I love food, and love to share. It brings closeness, joy, and togetherness. After 14-15 years as a celiac, I am finally in a place where my baking and cooking is better than it has ever been! It has been an amazing journey!

I love baking for so many reasons — but here is the primary one, because it is part of what makes our house a home. I am only recently diagnosed and while I am comfortable going without until I figure out the ins and outs of gf baking my kids are seriously bummed that I can't eat what they can and think I'm missing something. How sweet are they? One of these books would get us all closer to being on the same menu again…

Baking is a family tradition in our house. As a child I baked with my grandmother and mother, and now my toddler bakes with me daily. Food is nourishing for our bodies and our souls, so its no surprise that the process is as important as the final product.

Yoohoo! I am so glad that you've deemed this a worthy endeavor! I will be going home to Minnesota for Christmas this year and the tradition of cinnamon rolls on the morning of the 25th was something I was dreading sitting through this time around. Now that I am gluten-free, I knew it wouldn't be worth partaking, no matter how deeply we have woven the doughy, sticky goodness into our family history. But now! We're only going to have to tweak the tradition! This is the best Christmas gift 🙂Thanks and I wish you merry ways and lazy days full of good food and lingering hugs. Happy Holidays!

I want to be the best gluten-free baker I can be, because a wonderful man has suffered his entire life, thinking that his weight was a character flaw.

I love him just the way he is, and now that we suspect celiac as the culprit (he cut out wheat flours for a while, and has since found they make him incredibly tired, but avoiding them has brought glowing skin, rapid weight loss, and huge energy gains), I want him to be able to participate fully in the tremendous food culture that is North Alabama, his home, and soon to be mine.

I want to adapt lebkuchen and sweet rolls, linzer torte and chess pie, cobblers from local fruit and sweet potato English muffins. I want my darling to kiss me with butter on his mustache and go out to work with a light heart and a full stomach.

I love baking as it is something that connects me to my past. I have not yet found a baked good that I don't enjoy making, although some do get frustratingly fiddly.

I want to be the best baker I can so that I am able to readily cater for the tastes and allergies of my friends and family. Store bought stuff may last longer on the shelf but it doesn't taste anywhere near as good as the home made stuff.

I want to be a wonderful baker because it's empowering! Since going gluten free, I've come to realize that most of the GF baking I do on my own is far superior to the giant coffee shop muffins I used to nosh on.

I love this smiles on the faces of those around me. It makes my heart happy and full of memories of my childhood and baking with my mom. I love how they have embraced my GF cooking successes along with failures. Thanks for the GF inspirations and recipes. Happy Holidays!

Growing up, my Mom made baking such an integral part of showing her love for the family. Everything baked from scratch. Teaching me how to "feel" the dough when making pie crust or rustic homemade bread to know it had the right blend of ingredients. Thankfully for many of your recipes, I feel like I've found a way to feel some of the joy of baking again. But it's still a challenge…with Christmas coming up, memories of heart-shaped or butterfly-shaped cinnamon bread comes to mind and I've been mourning it. And I now have the added challenge of trying to bake not just GF but egg-free. I have a deeper appreciation for those dealing with multiple allergies beyond what I'm facing. Blogs like yours sure help to make it hopeful that joyful baking can be found once again…waterhythms@mac.com

I adore baking. I love the process and the end result. It's something sweet to share with people you love. Before I was diagnosed, my friends would gather in the kitchen and just sit and watched while I stirred together cakes, brownies, cookies, anything. After learning that I had Celiac, that stopped. Slowly but surely I plan on learning how to do that again – – without relying on mixes! Thanks for sharing your joy.

i love baking because i enjoy providing healthy treats for my family & friends who have food intolerances. i love telling someone that what they have just eaten has no wheat, no dairy & no eggs! most are shocked at what you can do without.

Hmm. I love food, but certain foods don't love me. I have 9 month old twins, and it seems that my daughter may have some foods that don't love her. I don't want her navigating problematic foods and poor health to learn what works. I'd really like to start at the realization that she can eat tasty, healthy food, and that not only is she not missing anything, but the food we is better. I feel a distinct lack in my chemical understanding of GF baking, and I'd really like to fill that gap with knowledge and dazzling food.

I hope you and yours are well, and are enjoying a lovely holiday season.

I love baking for relaxation, stress relief..and creating something so easily and so delicious. I was really on a roll when I discovered the need to avoid gluten. It has really put a damper on the great tasting baking I used to be capable of. As the fall apart, mushy, spread to cover my whole baking sheet, scones I produced last weekend attest to….I could really use some help!

Like you, I found a bond with my 2 1/2 year old daughter through baking. I have been gluten free for 8 years and didn't really bake much (in fear that I would eat it all myself!) until my little Kendall started a gluten free diet a few months ago.

Since then, we've been whipping up chicken nuggets, cupcakes, mini muffins, and anything else that she can substitute at school so she doesn't feel left out.

She pushes her chair up on the counter, pokes her tiny fingers into the batter to taste it and then stares wide-eyed through the oven glass to watch her goodies rise.

These are some of the nicest moments I've been able to share with her as a busy working mom, so having a new cookbook to explore with her would be a delight.

Baking brings back memories of my grandmother and I in the kitchen making the food which put smiles on our family's faces. I loved those moments with her. My younger sisters and brother are gluten-free and I like the challenge of giving them that same experience but also making sure they can eat and enjoy the experience.

wow, real cinnamon rolls! I look forward to the final version, mostly because though I am perfectly capable of eating an entire pan of them with my love in one sitting, i think neither of us really needs to. So something we can keep a bit thru the week would be good. I too used to shout at any gf recipe that even came close. But then as I got better at baking, I enjoyed the ones that brought back memories, that I could give to everyone and see them smile, the ones that don't taste 'different'. and it love the science of baking – it's like alchemy in the kitchen!

My love for baking is related to my love for my family. I am from an Italian American family and I love baking the classic holiday cookies and treats, biscotti, pizelles, and classic sugar cookies. I have fond memories of baking holiday treats with my mother and grandmother (Nonie). In fact this Thanksgiving, my daughter (11)and I learned how to make my Nonie's lo-fat apple pie. She's 98! It was such a wonderful time to share this art with her and to pass on her wisdom and love for baking. This past year, I have discovered that I have several food allergies, wheat, soy & dairy being the main culprits. This has created a new challenge for me but one that I am willing to take on so that I can carry out the family baking traditions–just with a healthy twist.

I love baking mostly for the creative process, but also because I can make something that is healthy & delicious, and make it in my very own kitchen! When I bake, I am in my element! It's cathartic and meditative. Plus I love the challenge of re-creating gluten-free treats. My dream is to have a gluten-free, tasty counterpart to every gluten-filled goodie that's out there.

Why do I love to bake? Hmmm. Good question. I actually had to stop, sip some hot cocoa, and then some tea, and think a bit.

At first, my answer was, Well of course I like to bake, why does it matter 'why'? Who doesn't like to bake? And then I realized I wasn't answering the question at all, and I buckled down and really started thinking, wondering.

'Why does it matter to me how many apples belong in a proper apple pie?'

'Why must I make sure to chill the water before using it in a pastry dough?'

'Why am I always all-fired determined to make the best cinnamon rolls this world has ever known or will know?'

The answer was surprising and it took my mind from the immediate and thrust me back.

I found I love baking because my mother did, and her mother. My father's mother also. I am surrounded by strong women, each with her own baking signature. My mother's annual potica, my grandmother's baklava, and now, my famous apple pie. I remember tentatively establishing myself in their presence as a new generation with a baking tradition all my own. Becoming more confident every time I would present them with something new, and appreciating their trust when I would write my aunts asking them for their secret recipes. And the sheer gratefulness I felt when they sent them to me in their familiar, spidery handwriting.

So, why do I love baking?

Because when I bake I can hold in my hand the material of generations past and, with pleasure and tradition smiling on me, pass it on to the generations to come. Baking is a thread that just seems to keep going and I hope, with the deepest of hopes, that it never stops.

I grew up baking with my mom and sisters and loved it. I still love it. However, my husband of a year and a half was diagnosed with Celiacs this summer and I now find baking more of a daunting task. I'd like to learn to enjoy it again.

I love baking, it brings me memories of my childhood, making waffles in the early mornings with my late grandfater, the smell of cinnamon – I love baking because it lets me relieve the stressors of the day and lets me focus on enjoying that moment of bliss. Recently, having to change my diet to gluten free, I have lost part of that joy because I am just to frustrated with how things turn out. I want have joy to share and be able to eat my mother's Christmas cookies this year – but alas, I can't. Fortunately, your blog has begun to help me relieve my frustrations over baking – I just want to bake more. I want to show my family, my fiance's family that even though I have to live gluten free, I don't have to miss out on all the goodies life brings me. I want to fill the house with smells of nutmeg and cinnamon and chocolate again – he misses that and I do too. Baking was a gift to me shared first by my grandfather and I am not ready to give that gift up because of an allergy – I don't just bake for me, I bake to share the love in my family. 🙂

I bake out of necessity. Even after eating gluten free for almost 9 years, I still walk into a grocery store, past the bakery and want to buy something. Convenience is no longer an option. It was hard to accept the fact that I can't pop into a store or bakery and grab something. The reality is if I want it, I have to bake it. In the past, baking was something to do when I felt creative or wanted to make a gift at Christmas. Today, if I want a really good chocolate chip cookie that isn't hard or doesn't crumble, I have to bake it myself. Cinnamon rolls are something I miss the most. I have been amazed at your bravery to try so many different recipes and work with flours that I didn't even know existed a few years ago. I used to collect cookbooks before I was diagnosed. Today my collection is smaller, but well read and much more appreciated. I would love to add any of these wonderful books to my collection.

Oh how I love your blog, it feels like home, thank you. I am Gluten-free, as is one of my boys. And I am done coping with our condition, I am ready to get back to life. I used to love baking, and I am ready to do it now!

I love baking with friends and small people. I usually realize after I have let the 2 1/2 year old crack the egg that she is reveling in her new found experience of goo and sharp shell. I love the creation amid chaos and a the alternative time I experience when I spontaneously mix and add. And the feel of dough underneath my fingernails is as it should be.

At Thanksgiving I made a gluten free pumpkin pie from scratch. Not entirely difficult, but it was suggested to me to buy the pie shell (from Whole Foods) and a pre-made filling. Why oh why are you choosing the hard way of making this pie, I was asked. Because I can. Because I grew up with a mom who wasn't much of a cook nor a baker. Where Minute Rice was a staple. Where nothing was made from scratch, and food made with minimal effort or thought. It makes my heart happy beyond belief to cook and bake from scratch (and especially now with the challenge of using gf flours – remember I like the hard way?!?) to know I made it myself. With love and thought and a bit of myself. And the humble little pumpkin pie I made on T-day? Totally worth the effort. It was the first to go in a non-gf crowd!

Baking is a meditation for me whose results end up blessing the lives of other people. It also brings my son and I together to repeat recipes that have become favourites over his short life of 6 years. When he asks to make something, he knows exactly what recipes he wants.

Baking, simply said, combines food and emotion, in a completely positive way. The ability to take a few ingredients, otherwise perhaps uninteresting on their own, and combine them to make something delicious and often spectacular is a power feeling. Everyone nearby becomes interested — some in the process, all in the results. My three daughters all participate in some way when I bake. My oldest, nearly 13, was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. I now feel I have a new calling — to use my decent baking skills to create things for her — and for our whole family — that do not require wheat flour to be delectable, irresistible, mmmm-worthy. Many successes so far, and I look forward to increasing my skills.

I love your blog — it is one I consult regularly and look forward to reading. Many thanks.

I enjoy the process of baking, and I love love love the finished product. I've been challenged in the last two years, however, since my now almost three-year-old was diagnosed with wheat, dairy, egg and peanut allergies. The food that I most love to eat, and the food that I fed my other boys as toddlers, were off the table, so to speak, for my littlest. My first attempts at baking were disappointing to say the least. I refuse to give him that I wouldn't eat myself, so many batches of pancakes, muffins and bread went straight into the garbage. Since then, your blog, along with a couple others, have been a huge help, and a huge encouragment. I wonder now what he'll think when he's able to eat regular pancakes (the doctor said he'll most likely outgrow the allergies). He may think wheat food is bland and has a weird texture!

I'd love to try out the baking book that the cinnamon roll recipe is from.

OH my gosh, I've been thinking about cinnamon rolls lately, I'm so glad you're playing with them. I've wondered about gluten for the past couple of years which is how I first found your site, and I have to join the parade of people thanking you for making the now official-transition to gluten-free a little more bearable. I love baking because it awakens all of those primal familial memories. I love baking because it's logical, because it's beautiful, because it's calming. But mostly I love baking because sharing the goods is like giving someone a great big hug. I just made my first foray into gluten-free baking and my roomie and I ate a delicious batch of banana bread this morning, adapted from your recipe. She just about drooled eating it, and since she doesn't have to eat gluten-free, I considered it a resounding success. Thank you for helping me transition back into my role as domestic diva!

I love to bake and know that its best for my family. I do it for my kids, and especially my oldest son to keep him healthy. But selfishly, I love the comments I get from friends, teachers, and family when they are admiring my work and creativity. 🙂

I love to bake, because I love the magic of putting together a few ingredients, watching it grow before my eyes, then brown and turn into scrumptiousness. I'm still in the place where I'm afraid to bake, and I eat a lot of corn tortillas instead of trying to bake bread. Hopefully if I win a book, it will help give me confidence!

Baking brings me back. It brings me back to childhood and high school and all the time of self-discovery and exploration when I was figuring out who "I" was. And am. Cooking is an act of love for everyone around me. But baking is an act of love for me.

Being a better baker keeps me in love with the future and keeps hope alive. It lets me share more and more with more with the people I love and those I will love: vegan, celiac, omnivore.

I love baking because it's creating. And really, have you ever known anybody who doesn't smile when handed a cupcake? Also, my 5 year old son is now gluten-free, and I don't want him to miss out on eating the fun things just because they have gluten.

HHHHmmm. Why do I love baking? Doesn't baking take everyone to a "happy place"? baking reminds me of my mother, my grandmother, my very funny and slightly hippie friend Karen from college and her homemade icing. As a mother baking is most definitely a moment in the making everytime I bake with my children. We make a huge mess, laugh hysterically and have a fabulous time. Baking is never the same. You can make the same recipe and it will be fluffier, a bit more "golden" than the last batch and sometimes less than expected. We live and learn. I don't necessarily want to be the best baker in the world, but I want to enjoy every moment and learn to bake like an "old soul" who just knows what to do next, who can intuitively tell if a recipe needs more vanilla or a touch of this or that. I want to be the baker of my children's memories in 20 years when they say to their friends… "This reminds me of my mom".

mmmm. i love baking for so many reasons. it's such an accomplished feeling to begin something with so many ingredients and be so involved with your hands and have this beautiful finished product. even when it's not always that beautiful. i have a daughter who also loves baking and there are moments where i try to control our process and tell her not to do something or why that won't work, but then i step back and look at how she is just wanting anything to do with this magical process… and at the end of the day, a little more sugar won't REALLY ruin the muffins. thank you for sharing.

I love baking because it means I am home…with my children and my sweet husband and they all love the scents coming from our kitchen. I have always baked with my children, from the moment they were wee babes in my sling. Now my eight year old daugher will taste one of our creations and wisely comment something like, "I think it needs a little more nutmeg" (or salt, or whatever…point is, she's always right!). One time I saw some grown daughers who were guests on Oprah and they commented that their only memories of their mom was of her cleaning. I can happily say that my son and daughter will be telling stories about how we were always baking…messy house, and all!

I love baking because it is the one time in my life I feel centered and in the moment. So much else in life I am worrying, hurrying, fretting, analyzing…with baking and dough I have to stop, sink into it, be there, create.

i started baking with my mom as a kid mainly so i could lick the bowl or pick at the cookie dough. THAT was the best part of it all. and still IS thanks to glu-free recipes! i love the process, the smells, the joy it brings to my friend's bellies and faces. i can't cook. but i can bake. and that feels good. and gooey : )

I'm so grateful that you have the time and the patience to test, and retest recipes. It makes my life so much more manageable because I know I can check here for sure-to-please recipes.

and Heather – an above commenter – was so wonderfully articulate about her love of baking. I ditto what she says (and give thanks for her words) and add:

part of the joy of baking for me is the simple pleasure that comes from creating something that brings happiness to others. seeing my kid scarf down a warm chocolate chip cookie, or my husband smile after tasting something I've labored over – is amazing.

I love to bake! Not only for myself, but for others, especially my family. If they weren't here to eat it, I wouldn't be able to bake as much as I do. I'm constantly trying new recipes, experimenting, and discovering new techniques to enhance food.

When I first discovered I needed to go GF and DF, I read your book and was encouraged that there is great food in life after allergy blood test results!

Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes! I've been reading your blog for years and only recently told that I had to give up gluten because it's a trigger for IBS. (Not diagnosed celiac but no gluten for me in future)

Instead of feeling sad or like a part of my life had been taken away, I was happy that I knew where I could come for advice, warmth and the most amazing gluten free recipes, that I'd already been baking.

I love baking because it helps to relax me. Often during all night cram sessions at university, I would be the one in the kitchen making cookies to sustain others. And now baking makes me happy and content knowing that there will always be something in my kitchen that I can eat.

Just this week I had a bit of a hard conversation with someone, in which they mentioned their concern over a lack of passion in my work. At the time, I was engrossed in other bits of what they had said and failed to take note of that particular comment. But after I hung up the phone, that one sentence stuck with me. It set me to thinking a great deal about whether or not passion was lacking from my work life.

Yes, it seems, with not too much reflection that it certainly is. I like what I do at work, but I don't love it. Not anymore anyway. I just do it, day after day after day, in drudgery, with only little sparks of light now and then.

Today, I sat staring out the window thinking about nothing much in particular, when a woman came into the shop where I was sitting. She started talking to the lady at the counter and asked, "What kind of work or passion does she have there?"

That got me to really wondering what are my passions? Beyond what I do, what do I love? What sustains my spirit? The answer–creating.

I love being at home and in the kitchen. This is where my creative energy comes out most freely. I love to create and food, I realized only today, has become my medium. I have not painted or sewn now in over a year. Why, because I've been making my art in the kitchen, sharing it not through sight and touch like my other art, but through smell and taste. I love witnessing the laughter and silent moments of contemplation created by sharing even the simplest of treats.

This is why I love baking, just as so many others have said: it makes people happy. It feeds my family and brings a smile to their faces. It nourishes and sustains them. And, it does the same for me, more in spirit than stomach, as I realize more and more each time I open the oven door.

Hi ShonaThanks for the recipe. I have a wheat allergy and my son a dairy intollerance. We baked your dinner rolls the other day and creating 'proper' dough, that needed to raise etc was a completely new experience for my 3-year old. He was mesmerized and ate too many warm from the oven rolls, but he loved every last crumb. I cried when I realised that my children will be able to share wonderfull baking moments with me and we too will create memories as precious as the one I have from my childhood and family.Thanks for all the care you take with the recipes and the testing. We will be making the cinnamon rolls tommorow.

I did a fine job of adjusting my baking for my dairy and egg allergies but when I discovered last month that I am also allergic to wheat, I am stymied! Thanks to great blogs, like yours, I am slowly finding recipes and cookbooks that I can use.holl

I am wife and mom who loves to feed my family good food. Two years ago we learned that my husband and my oldest daughter have Celiac. A year ago we also realized my youngest, just two years old now, also has it. It has totally changed the way we eat in this house (We eat in the house alot more instead of going out for one!) and it has inspired me to be a better cook. I have discovered a joy for cooking and using fresh ingrediants and not relying on packaged foods. We all eat better now and I am grateful for that. I don't want my children to grow up feeling deprived and missing good food due so I am working to be the best baker I can be, especially this time of year. We are making memories!

Oh, this is so lovely. I've been living gluten free (and am trialing dairy free) for months now while I figure out why my muscles and joints ache.

I have missed baking so. very. much. I've tried GF mixes with sad results. There's no joy of chemistry and instinct and messy counters in those boxes.

Instead of an engagement ring my husband gave me a huge, beautiful, hand-thrown bread mixing bowl. This is how much I love to bake, and how central it is to who I am. The bowl has been holding fruit since I went GF.

It's wonderful to have ideas for GF baking books to try–I spent an hour at a library the other day, wondering how I could possibly know which are worth trying.

Thanks for all the recipes and ideas! You give me hope that I will be covered in flour once again!

Baking is my release. It is my creative outlet. I can go into my kitchen and know that if I mix a certain amount of flour, starch, xanthum gum, etc…. I can create something wonderful. By sharing these recipes, I can help others with food allergies, intolerances, etc… realize that food can taste good again! Though… the best part about baking is seeing the faces of your family and friends enjoying your baked goods. That is, by far, the greatest reward!

I love baking with my daughter, it is a way to be in complete understanding of each other and for her to take her own creation to school for snack and have that reminder in the middle of her day of the time we shared.

I've just discovered last month that my toddler has trouble with gluten and our baking has stopped as he wants whatever delicious smelling thing is pulled from the oven. I need to start baking again, this time gluten free, so my daughter and I can have that time together and eventually bring my son in too. But I need some serious guidance to get there, so yeah! for this blog and a good cookbook would help too…sarah

I love to bake because I love to feed people. I love that we all stop to eat, exchanging glances and sighing over food. I love that baking is my meditation, loving the food, loving the time, loving who will eat it. I bless my food baking this way.Now that I have a family member who is gf, I love coming up with different ways to inspire him. Different ways to let him know how loved he is, and that he doesn't have to have a life of missing the past.

For me, baking is about taking one little piece of the world and turning it into a finite, wonderful thing. So much of what goes on in the world, in our lives, can't be captured in the reasonably finite, but baking a cake or cookies or pie, and then eating or giving away the final product, is a way to make one small part of the word just right.

Baking is one of the best ways to show people that you care. The smell of something in the oven, and the feeling of kneading dough are so sensual! I just did an elimination diet and found out that dairy and gluten were causing my health issues, so right now I'm baking for others, but I'll need to try some of these cookbooks so I can try my own creations! Happy holidays!

I love to bake because of the cherished memories I'm reminded of each time I prepare something: the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies my mom had ready for me when I came home from school, the homemade breads she made on weekend mornings for my siblings and me, the sugar cookies we decorated each holiday season with icing and red hot candies. I practice baking of both gluten-free and non-gluten-free treats for my husband and family in hopes for creating special memories and traditions for my loved ones as my mother did for me.

Thank you for sharing your favorite gluten-free recipes and opening up your life to us readers! Have a happy, healthy holiday season! ~Robin Fortin, robin.fortin@mac.com

Baking is a way of loving my family, and providing warm, comforting memories- the kind that are tied to scents and flavours, and I hope that when my children leave home they'll remember their childhood when they taste gingersnaps or fresh cinnamon rolls.

I love baking because I no longer have a fear of baked goods, especially Christmas cookies and other goodies! It's so nice to relive childhood pastimes with Mom teaching me to bake, except this time it's gluten-free! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes! You make being gluten-intolerant not so tough!

I love baking whether I'm alone or sharing the experience with my niece and nephew. When I'm alone, baking relaxes me. It's like meditation. Add this, fold that, taste this, yum. When I'm with my niece and nephew it's just good fun! I want to be the best baker I can be because I like knowing that my loved ones aren't clogging any arteries or aggravating any allergies by eating my food. I also hope that in some small way, my niece and nephew will share my love of baking. Congratulations on all your accomplishments!

I grew up with a mom who loved cooking, but not particularly baking. Her baked specialties were beer bread (which was the thing I got to make with her, funny…) and gooey butter cake (which my brother made with her…man we need to find that recipe!).

Now, wheat-free, I love baking because it allows me to recreate things I miss, and because I get to share sweets and treats with my kids. For all of us, when I bake it means more whole grains and less processed sugars (which I think is better tasting!).

I also love baking because my children refer to whatever I bake as "Mommy's famous ______!" Who wouldn't love that?!

On the cinnamon rolls: I made Smitten Kitchen's recipe recently (with spelt flour, so can't give you thoughts on the subs), and learned that it takes WAY more than an hour to let those babies rise. I put them in the fridge overnight, which should've had them rise, and then pulled them out an hour before baking. I went ahead and made the scrap ones–the pie pan filled with the ends and the ones that didn't fit in my other pan. They were really tasty, but tough. I let the others rise for another 2 hours before baking. It was a HUGE difference.

Baking sort of ties all the sweetest parts of comfort together–the yumminess, the aromas, the bonding of loved ones who join the baker who created the baked goods–the pure and simple joy the process of baking evokes…can't wait to try your recipe as all your recipes I've tried take it to the next level of perfecting gluten free cookery–this is the one I've used http://www.recipezaar.com/cinnabon-ish-cinnamon-rolls-gluten-free-376575 that I snicked from RecipeZaar–delicious.

My whole life I've had intestinal issues, I suffered through high school, college, and finally changed my diet. However, baking has always seemed like something I could never do trying to keep Gluten Free (I am not celiac, but I have been tested..life without gluten is better for me though) Happy Holidays! I hope I win a book!!

I love baking and have been doing so since I was a little girl. Right now, I feel like a failure. I am still learning how to bake gluten and dairy free and its frustrating at times. Btu I keep doing it; I love it. It's my "me" time. Its relaxing and its what I love to do 🙂

I love baking because I love to create.I love a challenge in the kitchen. Before having to go gluten free I was getting obsessed with creating "the best" cookies, biscuits, pancakes etc. Now I still get to do that but with different ingredients.

BTW. I had come across your blog when searching for gluten free recipes to make for a friend who was doing a "cleanse".(8 months before my celiac diagnosis) I thought "oh geez what can I make for this dinner party?" I used your hummus recipe. When I got home after my diagnosis I remembered your blog and it has been with me ever since ( 2 years now!). Thank you so much.

I am an unabashed "feeder." I love taking care of people and showing them I care by creating something for them to eat that will bring them pleasure. I love the smells of food baking (and cooking!) I love the warmth from the oven. I love it when you put a wet, gloppy panfull of something into the oven and when you open up the oven however many minutes later there is this transformed thing that can be eaten and enjoyed. My diagnosis with celiac a couple of months ago has kind of thrown a wrench in the works but I am slowly getting the feel for the different flours and how to balance them against the starches.

I love to show my love to people through food. It's supremely satisfying to create something wonderfully, sweetly edible from basic ingredients. The whole process gives me such joy, especially when I hear those mmmmmmmms and ahhhhhhhhhhs after the first bite.

I love baking and I would love to open my own cake business eventually, one of the most exciting things would be able to say 'yes' to people who normally have to say 'no'. I chatted with a mother at a kiddies birthday party recently who generally doesnt let her little boy attend parties because of the danger with his peanut allergy. This book would be really helpful to me in learning how to cook for this kiddy, and others including the birthday boy at the party I was baking for, who was allergic to dairy and eggs.

Birthday cakes make everyone smile so much that allergy free birthday cakes would be a wonderful thing to be able to master!

I love baking because (I feel like I'm in school, tee hee!) I feel connected to the web of women throughout the ages who have put hands into flour, which they've often ground themselves, & made magic! Baking IS magic – put these ingredients together, & in a few minutes or hours, you have something warm, fragrant & wonderful to share with your family!I also baked with my mom, & the smell of hot chocolate chip cookies or rolls or . . . . fresh from the oven . . . & yes, being GF, if I bake it myself, I know my little family & I can eat it without worries.

Just recently found your site and love it! My hubby has celiac and the journey is an adventure. Baking had definietly changed with his diagnoses and is at times a challenge. Your enthusiastiasm about baking gluten-free is inspiring! Thanks.

I used to bake all the time – bread, cookies, squares, loaves, muffins. It was my way of making love tangible. And I was good at. I made beautiful light and fluffy things that had beautiful texture and tasted like a little slice of heaven. Since going GF 2 years ago there has been a big void in my life. I've tried so many times, and most come out as a flop. I've got my go-to cookie and brownie recipe. I made up a banana scone recipe that worked wonders, but everything else has been dry or soggy or hard or dense and nasty. So I gave up trying. And I really miss that happy feeling I got taking a perfect batch of raised muffins out of the oven. Or watching a friend or family member roll their eyes with ecstacy at the first bite of something I made.

I hope that someday I can get that feeling back. Maybe these books will help- whether I win or not- they're going on my wishlist.

I had just recently discovered my joy in baking when I discovered that I would have to live gluten-free. Obviously this presented a challenge, and I haven't yet been able to get my stride back. Learning to master gluten-free baking would reinvigorate that joy once again! Plus, there really is nothing like biting into a warm, freshly made baked good in a disastrously dirty kitchen.

I love baking b/c it reminds me of special moments as a child with my grandmother. I love sharing "kitchen' love with my children. It is so awesome that they are conscious about baking and food allergies….and they love to experiment along with me.

I want to be able to make recipes, that my mom (the wheat/gluten/yeast) can eat. I want to discover more recipes that make ME feel better too. I want to be able to bake in a way that doesn't weigh my body down, and right now, I need any help I can get to achieve this, as it is still new and still daunting!

I love your site. I bought my mom your book last Christmas, and she lit up with joy when I gave it to her. I send her links to your blog!

I love baking because I have so much fun making yummy, homemade things for my familyespecially if my daughters help out. I'd LOVE these books. My youngest daughter was diagnosed with wheat and dairy allergies, so it's created a whole new challenge for me in the kitchen. Thanks for this blog!

I have just recently started to live and bake gluten free. I love to eat and love to cook and baking is something that I miss. Crisp sugar cookies, soft chocolate chip, flaky pie doughs, all of these and more are what I long to master in my new diet.

Hi Shauna, I have never loved baking…until last Christmas. I loved to cook and create meals but not sweets. We found out last year that my 8 year old daughter has celiac disease (I found out I had it earlier that year). Last Christmas I was determined to give her a "normal" Christmas. After tons of research and borrowed library books, I found your website. We made 2 of your cookies recipes, sugar cookies and peanut butter balls. They were so simple that they inspired me to create my own cookie recipe involving chocolate, gf cereal flakes, and a couple of other gf ingredients that we had on hand. All 3 recipes were so good that I had to hide our gf cookies from the non-celiacs (so we would have a few for the rest of the week). Now we LOVE baking! Since then we have tried various bread recipes with mixed results of course.

Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful ideas with the rest of us who are not so creative or adventurous.

I don't love baking anymore and I'm working hard to change that. It's funny that you should ask this, because it's a topic I was considering exploring on my blog for myself. Thanks for bringing it to the forefront of my mind.

Oh, I love to bake for so many reasons… I could do it all day. But I have a newly egg and gluten free almost seven year old in the house, and I feel that I have been failing her a bit. One of these cookbooks would be so lovely…and thanks for a really sweet post.

When I bake I forget all of the challenges going on in my life. Since being identified with gluten intolerance it is also a fun challenge to see how my creation is going to come out. What fun to see over the years….now when I serve my baking to guests there is a good chance they can't tell it's gluten free!! To me the kitchen is the most important room in the house.

To me, there's a certain sense of pride connected to baking, to cooking in general; being able to safely feed my family, filling their bellies with delicious food, the house with wonderful scents. there's nothing sadder than a house that has a neglected kitchen, one that just smells like stale air.

you are so generous and giving, Shauna and Danny, and I've loved your blog for nearly 4 years, now. thank you for inspiration and comfort.

I know that your cookbooks and recipes have helped a lot of people deal with their gluten problem. However, I just want to add another perspective. At the same time that I found out that I had a gluten problem, I had stage 4 cancer. I recovered from the cancer. Occasionally I have gluten free pasta and buy baked goods at the gluten free bakery on holidays. But most of the time, I just don't eat sweets, or lots of starch other than potatoes or rice.

I don't really miss it that much. I have lost a lot of weight and feel better. I did eat a lot of sweets before and loved the bread basket when I went out to eat.

Maybe if I was a baker, like my daughter I would feel differently.

Please don't take this as a criticism. It's not. It's just a different perspective.

I know that your cookbooks and recipes have helped a lot of people deal with their gluten problem. However, I just want to add another perspective. At the same time that I found out that I had a gluten problem, I had stage 4 cancer. I recovered from the cancer. Occasionally I have gluten free pasta and buy baked goods at the gluten free bakery on holidays. But most of the time, I just don't eat sweets, or lots of starch other than potatoes or rice.

I don't really miss it that much. I have lost a lot of weight and feel better. I did eat a lot of sweets before and loved the bread basket when I went out to eat.

Maybe if I was a baker, like my daughter I would feel differently.

Please don't take this as a criticism. It's not. It's just a different perspective.

I know that your cookbooks and recipes have helped a lot of people deal with their gluten problem. However, I just want to add another perspective. At the same time that I found out that I had a gluten problem, I had stage 4 cancer. I recovered from the cancer. Occasionally I have gluten free pasta and buy baked goods at the gluten free bakery on holidays. But most of the time, I just don't eat sweets, or lots of starch other than potatoes or rice.

I don't really miss it that much. I have lost a lot of weight and feel better. I did eat a lot of sweets before and loved the bread basket when I went out to eat.

Maybe if I was a baker, like my daughter I would feel differently.

Please don't take this as a criticism. It's not. It's just a different perspective.

My husband has had Celiac and a dairy allergy his whole life. He has missed out on so many baked goods, and I would love to have some new recipes to try for him. I'm not very good at coming up with modifications on my own without an actual recipe. Please help me give him some better Christmas treats!

I bake because my grandmother taught me to love the art and craft of taking a bunch of raw materials and making something that will put a smile on the faces of those I share with.

I also lost my love of baking when my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac three years ago. Since then, I've gone back to school to study the art and science of cooking, baking, and nutrition.

I am falling in love with baking all over again! I love that I can take the time to look for healthful and nutritious ingredients to add to my treats, and it helps to improve the health of my children while giving in to their little "sweet teeth." =)

Id love a copy of of Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook . Its been a while since Ive attempted much baking, since all my gluten-free attempts havent worked so well. I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment once the baked items come out of the oven, and especially when they taste good.

Every yummy looking bakery item has always been off limits to a girl like me who is allergic to tree nuts, shellfish(although shrimp is usually not an ingredient in donuts :), lactose, and now gluten for the last year and a half. Right before my celiac diagnosis, I hit a bottom with eating disorders that I suffered with for years, which I realize now were caused by the effects of celiac disease and eating gluten.

I have fallen in love with baking since my diagnoisis of celiac disease. As an artist, it's a visible symbol of how I am nurturing myself and healing my soul. I want to be the best baker so I can help others who suffer from food allergies. I am so grateful to be inspired to create in the kitchen and am looking forward to seeing where it takes me.

Baking has always been calming to me, a time for family, sharing joy and creating something wonderfully delicious. I love the smell of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg as they fill the kitchen, and slowly waft to the rest of the house. When I was first diagnosed earlier this year, I thought I could never bake again, but with coaxing from celiac relatives, I've started to try baking again. I am more tentative in my baking now, but gaining confidence as I adventure forth and try new recipes. Thanks for a great site!

i love to cook, and baking? well, it just brings piece of mind. i can't explain it. i was diagnosed with celiac earlier this year, and the first thought was "how am i going to bake anything?". it's a long learning process full of trial and errors. i would love to read/learn from others.

I love baking because it makes people (especially me!) happy. My grandmother taught me how to bake once I was old enough to hold a spoon, and ever since then, it's just been one of the things I turn to for any type of comfort, whether it's me that needs to be lifted up or to decompress, or someone else who needs the love that a homemade cupcake brings. 🙂

I love baking because it's the first cooking in the kitchen that I did by myself, a cake from a mix at age 7. I also love baking because it reminds me of my grandmother, who started each day by baking something fresh for breakfast. Her farm kitchen is the place my dreams weave back to, over and over.

I have stopped baking because with my new food intolerances, I just can't seem to find a recipe that I can use, which makes me sad. And I learned from you, dear woman, that it's better to focus on what I can eat and take joy in those foods, than to lament what I can't.

But here's just a few of the 83 foods I can't have that effect baking…

substandard baked goods aren't worth the time to bake or calories, so I have been hesitant to just experiment wildly. Thank-you so much for bringing up other ingredient allergies and pointing to some resources…

Seeing the photo of the Allergen Free Baker's Cookbook made my little heart race! I've never been a baker…but I am now! Four months ago I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. The doctor also took away eggs and dairy. I thought I was fine with it, until my 40th birthday arrived and I realized there would be no cake, no real chocolate dessert without eggs and butter. Oh, I was so disappointed. Crushed, really. That was the day I wondered if I could really live like this. Then my husband saw the Babycakes cookbook at the bookstore and was so excited to see that maybe, just maybe we could make something yummy for my birthday after all. We made the banana chocolate chip bread and it was amazing! Not just good for gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, but good bread! My heart sang. I felt lighter. I knew I could handle this new way of eating.Since then I've whipped up almost everything in that book. I bring baked goods to parties and to people's homes where they are new to eating this was. It's such a pleasure to be able to have and share a treat and take good care of my special needs at the same time.Baking makes me feel like my old self…the self that could eat anything!

I believe that the feeling of home is really important. That sacred space that is warm and comfortable and safe. I like to bake for this reason. It adds to a feeling of home. The warmth, the sweet smells, who doesn't love that!

to me, the ability to cook and bake things for my family is accompanied by a source of pride, a feeling of accomplishment, of wonder – that anyone can take a melange of ingredients and end up with something delicious just blows my mind. the fact that i can fill my family's bellies with warm, delicious food is a wonderful gift. there's nothing sadder than an abandoned kitchen, no scents of baked goods filling up the house, nothing hearty simmering on the stove.

i've been reading your blog for about four years, now, and you + danny have been such an inspiration + source of hope to me. thank you for everything.

Baking is sharing love, that is why I love to bake, for the people I love.

My husband (2 months gfree) and I (9 months gfree) were shocked when I served chocolate cake that was modified from the betty crocker gfree mix to my discerning mother-in-law and she practically begged for the recipe. She ate ours instead of her gluteny cake. It really openned my eyes to the possibities and I'm exploring more and more.

I love baking because it's something we do as a family. My husband, who is allergic to wheat and corn, and I have been baking together for the nine years that we've been married. And now our two daughters enjoy baking with us, too. Since my younger daughter celebrated her second birthday, she has learned the word "happy" and now associates cake with being happy. "Happy cake," she says whenever we make a dessert. And that's worth baking for.

I love baking for the process. It's meditation for me, undoubtedly. Lately when I bake, I focus only on the task at hand, the measuring, the many senses that are stimulated with each step.

On another note, I can't tell you how happy these stories and photos of Little Bean make me. And that one of her in her chair that you posted the other day? It melted my heart. It makes me so happy to see you being just the sort of parent I dream of being one day. Thanks for sharing these moments.

I love baking because it relaxes me and I have a sweet tooth 🙂 I found out that I needed to go gluten free in August and have been having some issues with making some of my favorites. I want to be the best baker I can be because I don't want to feel limited by not being able to eat gluten. I also want to be a better baker so I can adapt some of my Grandma Gross' recipes – she was diabetic but would bake sweets for her church and the neighbourhood. I love the connection I feel when I bake from her recipes and I know that I can't go for long without figuring out some adaptations. I'll start with using a GF flour mix but I'd like to get it to the point that it uses basic GF flours

Baking for me is providing things for others. I grew up in a baking household, where home-made rolls and cookies were the items brought to potlucks or to other families for gifts. It provided an opportunity to give people something of youself – something that took planning, effort, and skill. A gift of the finest pie or pastry, if purchased, doesn't say that you care for someone like baking homemade cornbread from scratch.

So glad I found your blog. Since I started looking for gluten/egg/dairy free recipes I've been almost obsessed in finding "baking" recipes. I'm on a mission to make a good crust, tender noodles and bread. My BIL says it's impossible and I "need" to prove him wrong. We love bread, cakes and pies during the Holidays and he should get to eat them, too.

I love to bake! I love the smells of cinnamon and vanilla and the smiles on my boys' faces. Gluten-free baking scares me, though, and we have a dairy allergy in the house too. So I could use all the help I can get! Thank you for the generous giveaway! 🙂

I've officially been eating gluten free for a year. Figuring out how to bake gluten free has made it all a little easier. For thanksgiving I made an apple pie and my mom, who majored in home ec, said it was delicious.

Baking for me brings such a sense of peace. There is nothing better than the first sweet scents from the kitchen as my creation begins to bake. I can settle in with a book while I wait to taste the deliciousness, and it makes me feel wrapped up and cozy, regardless of the time of year.

i love baking because i love to give homemade gifts to people: for christmas, birthdays, parties, welcome-to-the-neighborhood, and just because. Since I've only been gf for half a year now, i'm only just beginning to expand my repertoire to baking for others (which is something that i really miss).

I bake because it makes me feel connected–to myself, to the foods I'm working with, and to the generations of cooks in my family like my mother and grandmother who taught me to cook and loved to bake. It also brings people closer when you share the baked goods… there are few feelings I love more!

My husband is the cook in our family but he cannot bake for the life of him. So that duty falls on me, which I don't mind at all. I love baking with my two little boys. I would love to improve my baking skills and learn how to bake gluten-free goodies so that my best friend and I can eat them together! =)

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease and I love to bake. I am looking forward to the new adventure of being gluten free and to continue to bake for my family. I have always loved to bake and this will not deter me! 🙂

I love baking! Especially this time of year. It was always my task to bring the Christmas cookies. But I only found out I'm allergic to gluten about 7 months ago. I'm still so lost with learning what I can eat that I've ignored baking and focused on other things. Now I want to learn baking the gf way and introduce my family to a gf treats. 🙂

I used to tell people "I'm not a great cook but man can I BAKE!" Now that I've had to go gluten free, it's quite the opposite. Your site has definitely given me hope that eventually I will bake again. My husband is ecstatic that I'm slowly finding the courage to try and bake again!Love your site, Love your book, can't wait for the cookbook!

I bake because I always have. My mother, my nana, my grammie, my aunts all baked with me. It is a part of life – making things from scratch and knowing how to make things from scratch feels good – feels right. And now I bake with my son.

Question for you: I was so excited to read your post about your newest pie crust but then so sad (sad for me, happy for you) about the almond flour because I am allergic to nuts. Should I try a substitution and if so what? Or should I just stick to your previous favorite recipe (which I have been using with good results)?

We have just discovered that one (possibly 3) of our 6 children have a gluten, dairy sensitivity. We are a bit overwhelmed at the changes needing to take place in the kitchen….this book would be such a HUGE blessing.As is finding your blog- Thank you!!

i bake because i want my children to experience how mixing, kneading, and combining all of these fun textures together, rather than buying in a box, creates something wonderfully delicious to enjoy and share. and how my gluten-free baby can savor it all with us!

I love baking because nothing beats newly baked, and therefore it is ok to eat as much as you like while it's warm. And I want to become super-good at it so that I can quit my day-job and spoil my family with newly-baked every day …

Hmm…what don't I love about baking?!? I love the careful measuring, mixing, combining to get just the right consistency. I especially love when I can stick my hands in and get all gooey. I love the way the sweet smells as the oven spreads its warmth through the house. Mostly I love sharing my treats with friends and family and knowing that I can still bake delicious treats and enjoy them without feeling sick!

I have long avoided cow's milk dairy and this past year, my daughter and I have had to remove gluten. I was a very accomplished gluten baker and have been in mourning for that loss. (Just ask my husband and sons how often I have made challah this past year.) I am so glad I found your blog. I feel as if I need to learn how to walk all over again.

Have you found good bread recipes that do not use gelatin? We cannot use this as it is not Kosher.

I used to love baking when the kids were little, then I sadly became ill with chonic fatigue/ME and also developed a wheat allergy and I didn't have the energy to do anything. Several years later, the kids have grown up and are away at uni, my marriage has ended and my health is just finally beginning to improve a little. And now I really want to get back into baking and doing something I used to love so much. when the kids are back it's great to feed them home baked stuff and to sit and chat and catch up while eating home baked goodies – yum! dawn from the uk

Growing up the only way I could distinguish myself amongst the great cooks in my home was to bake. No one else really loved baking, so it was my field. Now as an adult I am gluten intolerant which means I eat gluten and feel anywhere from ok to I'm-dying-why did-I-eat-that. I'm trying to learn to change my diet and ease into gluten free baking that doesnt taste like dried rocks.

I love baking because my friend myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com brought it back into my life. I am gluten, soy and casein free and when I was first diagnosed I did as you, avoided baking and searched for what I could eat. My friend brought baking back into my life by sending me little treats in her child's snack at school. You have no idea how much I looked forward to those treats. I have a beautiful baby boy and my husband is also gluten free. I love to bake because I want them to enjoy life and never feel as though they are missing out just because they can't eat gluten. Food it just too important to miss out on.

I have not been much of a cook or baker thus far in my life. THe baking I have done I have enjoyed but I have never made enought itme for it. However, it is all changing with my dear little son (just 2.5 years) who has multiple food allergies. He is anaphylactic to peanuts and sesame, and also gluten intolerant (probable celiac – me too, apparently). So now I am hoping to become a better cook and good baker and find a way to feed him safely and well.

I discovered baking after finding out I needed to be gluten free. Baking and cooking are special – they let out your creative juices, make you laugh, make you cry and bring people together. Giving someone something you baked is a huge way of saying I love you, but with cookies instead 🙂 I want to be the best baker I can, so I can educate others about food allergies and what healthy REAL food is all about.

I love baking and have always enjoyed baking. My partner whom we will be getting married in June loves to eat baked goods and has to watch his gluten intake and has MS. we have a very dear friend who cannot have gluten and i am always trying to create gluten free dishes and baked goods when she comes over and for our dinner parties.

When I was a little girl, I baked typical North American fare with my mother.

When I left home, I became fascinated by baking with more healthful ingredients, leaving out the heavily processed flours, white sugar, without sacrificing flavour – often enhancing it!

I have many friends who are vegan, so I've been learning to adapt my favourites so that they can also enjoy them – non-dairy milks, vegan margarine, flax "eggs" -sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some things are lost in translation, but I keep trying.

And recently, my lovely, perfect three year old step-granddaughter has been diagnosed with celiac disease, so now I must learn to bake without the wheat and spelt flours that I ordinarily use.

I have always loved baking, and want to pass share that love with her, too. It's such a wonderful way to build memories together, as you're discovering with your daughter. Thanks for being a constant source of inspiration!

I love baking to feed my family, but most of all because it feeds my soul. I feel alive, creative and happy. The memories I have baking with my mom, my grandma and my aunts are something I want to pass on to my boys. And, I'd love to pass on the Baker's Handbook to a good friend whose sons have all the allergies in that list (argh!)…in hopes she can enjoy baking again, too. – Jennjennmckim at hotmail dot com

Hi Shauna,I haven't commented here but I've loved the way you write for years. I never even heard of gluten before I found your blog, but I have loved to bake for years. I'm a college student and in high school (my super-busy years) I baked cakes to bring to school for parties and birthdays. It was my way of saying "I care about you and want you to be as happy as you can be". I got great at cookies. I bought a book on bread baking and my first few attempts were absolutely delicious.

The last few months I've been gluten-free in order to see if it wakes me up from my concentration/brain fog issues – and it has. But my absolute favorite foods are made from gluten. So. It's been a struggle and finding new things to bake people has been challenging. I want to be the best baker I can be so I still have something I can give to people.

And I told my parents that I'd like "a cookbook" for Christmas – time to update the wishlist with suggestions of the books you listed here.~Stephanie from CA

i did love baking, i am still trying to get it down GF. i love baked good especially brownies which i do love to make their the easiest but bread or anything doughy~ i am waiting for your book! and i would love any of these others!

Why do I love baking? I love creating something that makes people smile. Who doesn't love a little treat to show them that they are special to you. And the added bonus….to see the look on peoples faces when you tell them its gluten free. No people…my life is not over because I cannot have gluten….Seasons Greetings 🙂

Why do I love baking? I love creating something that makes people smile. Who doesn't love a little treat to show them that they are special to you. And the added bonus….to see the look on peoples faces when you tell them its gluten free. No people…my life is not over because I cannot have gluten….Seasons Greetings 🙂

Why do I love baking? I love creating something that makes people smile. Who doesn't love a little treat to show them that they are special to you. And the added bonus….to see the look on peoples faces when you tell them its gluten free. No people…my life is not over because I cannot have gluten….Seasons Greetings 🙂

to be honest I love eating bake goods more than baking them- but that does get me in the kitchen. I have an awesome friend who is gluten and egg free and I would love to win one of the cook books for her!

I stumbled on your website today and got choked up more than once. As mom to a recently diagnosed 15-year old celiac, I was certain our family would never find joy in food again. We spent the first several days consumed by the loss — all the things Jack would never be able to eat again, etc. Then I got busy researching GF cooking and discovered a whole world of "food love" — the best being your blog — and I was so happy I shed a few tears! I am thrilled my son is on the road to good health and I am grateful for resources like yours.

I love baking because it is a soul-filled process leading to a sensory explosion…much like painting a work of art, baking, to me, is art. Much like art, just when you think you've got it all figured out…fantastic recipes and all…you realize you want to learn a new medium. For me, my new baking medium (or purpose) is learning the ins and outs of being gluten free. Baking now gives me the opportunity to allow my husband to have the same sensory explosion (sight, smell, taste and sound) related to baked goods as everyone else who may not even know what gluten is. Baking is one way I can share my love. I want to be the best baker in my kitchen so that I can share tradition, recipes, technique, time, memories and more with family and friends. My fondest memories as I grew up (and now) are those in the kitchen, baking with my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and even father! I don't want to be a "good" gluten-free baker…..I want to be "great."

I love baking because of the science of it. That being said, I am no scientist. I appreciate the rhythm and expectation that if I combine, beat, fold, roll, drizzle, and set a timer, I may be gifted with a vacation for all of my senses. But I also respect the fact that if I fudge any of the directions laid out for me by more knowledgeable bakers, or make a Bergman-tradition out of it and throw in a substitution, I may get something no one has ever seen before, and that no one would ever eat (at least not outside the kitchen 😉 ). I love baking because it is like a friendship; you get out of it what you put into it!Thanks for all your tips, humor, and humanness!

I used to bake because I loved to make yummy creations and show my love to my family through baking. I always wanted my girls to think their mom is the best baker.

Within the last month, my daughter (4 years old) and I were diagnosed with celiac disease. Now I bake because I want to learn to make new yummy creations, and to show my love to my family through baking. And now, more than ever, I want my girls to think that I am the best baker!

I bake because it's a gift only I can give to my family. Although they can eat store bought, no one slaved over a hot oven for them personally. When they walk in the kitchen & find a morsel that's mouthwatering & ready for devouring, it gives me pleasure knowing they will enjoy every last crumb of the love I poured into the mix – just for them 🙂

I discovered your book almost a year ago on the featured shelf at the library just when I needed a good reminder about the magic of determined resilience. Thank you from deep in my heart and soul.

Also, my best friend, and fellow foodie, may be living with gluten intolerance too, -(seriously blaring symptoms in a woman who stubbornly denies it). Your leadership in this work of creating essentially wonderful dishes has given me hope that more people will embrace life in the holistic sense as well. As you quoted Hippocrates, "Let food be thy medicine…" Yes, it can be a healing element -both physically and emotionally.